Piazza di San Lorenzo

A piazza in Florence mostly owned by the Medicis containing many works from Michelangelo

Piazza di San Lorenzo is one of the many plazas located in the historical part of the city of Florence. It is famous for containing a large monastic complex owned by the Medici family that houses one of the largest churches in Florence, a library, the burial place for over fifty members of the family and many other architectural beauties.

Basilica di San Lorenzo

Basilica di San Lorenzo is one of the largest churches in Italy and it acts as the burial place for a large part of the Medici family. For centuries, it was Florence’s main church.

Medici Chapels

Located inside are the Medici Chapels, which are two structures that date back to the 16th century in honor of the Medici Family. One of the chapels, Sagrestia Nouva is the work of Michelangelo and the other one, Capella dei Principi, is larger than the former is a collaboration of several architects, over fifty members of the Medici family are buried in the crypts.

Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana

Located in a cloister inside the Basilica di San Lorenzo is a large library containing over 10,000 manuscripts. It was built with the purpose to prove that the Medici family were intelligent and no longer merchants. The construction of the library was began by Michelangelo but soon he left Florence and it was finished by Tribolo, Basari, and Ammanati under Michelangelo’s instructions. Inside the library is a beautiful vestibule lit by natural light coming in from the large windows; a reading room and a dramatic staircase.